Medical Kisses and other short stories!
by Aleavon
Summary: This was originally a three-chapter one-shot that I wrote one day, but I've decided to start writing more short one-shots so that I can get around writer's block! Please enjoy this series of Solangelo snapshots in both mortal and demigod worlds! If you want to read more, go check out my novel length, work-in-progress, fanfiction titled "Sunshine"! Thank you for reading :)
1. Medical Kisses (1)

**Author's Note:** Hey all! It's been a long time i know don't murder me pls i'm freaking out lol

okay anyways (continuing without punctuation so sorry if it bothers you DX)

I'm stuck in China with family until July 4th so i have no idea whether i'll be able to update anything after the next few days because i don't know if i'll have access to wifi but that's fine by me because i just wrote this fanfiction from a prompt i found on tumblr ^w^

I should have finished my long fic but i can't think of anything for the plotline or find any prompts i can use in that AU so i'll be searching up things for that but in the meantime i'll probably be writing these shorter fics :D

anyways here's the prompt and part one of the fic ^w^ enjoy!

Prompt: Solangelo Headcanon that when people find out that Will's kiss can heal pretty much anything everyone is desperate to try it and Nico gets super jealous and that's how he comes out to Will

I can just see like these little first year campers waddling up to will with bruised elbows and little grazes and Will kisses them away with a little amused laugh. Meanwhile Nico is in the corner of the infirmary, arms crossed, A++ sour puss face thinking "soon".

Credit to the solangelo blog on tumblr for the open prompt!

-Aleavon

Nico Di Angelo is caught up in his fluctuating feelings for Will Solace, one of his best friends at Camp Half-Blood... until one day he has to confront his feelings to secure Will's heart!

* * *

 **UPDATE:** This three-chapter story will not be extended in the near future, but I do plan on adding new one-shots to this fanfic as a collection of sorts :)

Enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Medical Kisses**_

"Ah, shit!" Nico cried out as he tripped over a rock next to the infirmary. One of the first-years must have left it lying there after yesterday's fort-building activity. There had been hordes of campers hauling all sorts of materials from the woods and the workshops, and one of the rocks must have slipped. Nico must have been too... preoccupied with his thoughts to not see that he was about to fall. He grimaced and picked himself up, seeing that he had scraped his knee along the way. He hobbled into the infirmary, feeling lucky that he was just on his way to visit Will. He cursed himself out under his breath for being so careless, but partially glad for a legitimate excuse to talk to Will during his shift.

It had been a few months after they had defeated Gaea, and Nico had gotten to know Will as a friend, talking and hanging out with him almost every day, whether at the lunch pavilion, during the Capture the Flag games, or in the infirmary while Will worked. From the first day that Will had demanded that Nico stay in that dreaded infirmary bed for three days (Nico ended up staying for a week because of the wolverine gashes that he had gotten from Lycaon), Nico had felt... different about this relationship with Will. Sure, he once had a crush on Percy, but that manifested from an admiration of a figure leagues above him... or so he thought at the time. He thought that he really loved Percy. Now he knew different. For a while, Jason had been one of the two people that kept him going - he knew about Percy after Cupid wrenched his deepest secret from inside him, and stayed by Nico's side through it all - and looking back, Nico really cared about Jason too, if only as a best friend. But what about now? What was Will to him? A friend? A best friend? Maybe... Something more?

A familiar voice shook Nico out of his thoughts. He looked up into the familiar tan, freckled face with the heart-wrenchingly clear blue eyes and smiled for what felt like the first time in weeks. Will looked down at Nico sternly, once again reminding Nico of the 5-inch difference in their heights. Nico's happyish demeanor wavered for a second, but he shook it off, reminding himself that it was Will. Will was his... friend. It's okay if your friends are taller than you.

"Nico, what did you get yourself into this time?", Will asked, gesturing towards Nico's now bleeding knee. "Been romping around the woods with O'Leary again?" He made a "tsk" noise and bent down to inspect Nico's knee, poking and prodding around the edges of the kneecap to make sure that there were no fractures or bruises.

Nico chuckled, shaking his head. _Maybe I should find Mrs. O'Leary to do that again. That was really fun last time._ "I was walking on my way here, not paying attention, and tripped on a rock just outside the door. It's not that bad, really. I really just came to talk to you." Nico ran his fingers through his hair, hoping Will wouldn't be able to figure out the reason why he came to talk all those days.

Will cocked his head to one side. "How did that rock get there...? That's a safety hazard! If people get injuries from right outside the infirmary, that won't look good. I'll be right back." Will jumped up from in front of Nico, ran out the door to remove the rock, and came back in a few seconds later.

"There we go. No more possible injuries right outside of my workplace." Will gestured for Nico to follow him into one of the rooms.

Nico walked into the room, saying, "I don't need a bed, Will," before realizing that he had sat down in Will's "office", which consisted of a spinny chair, a bench, and a stack of camper medical files on a desk.

"Sit down right here and I'll get that knee cleaned up and bandaged in no time." Will ordered. He walked out the room. Nico heard a water spout running, a cabinet opening, some rustling, and then Will's footsteps back into the room.

"Can you bend your knee over the edge of the bench for me?" Will waited for Nico to do so before bending down to treat the wound

Nico obliged and sat on the bench as Will opened up a tube of antibac and a patch band-aid. Nico watched Will's curly, blonde mop of hair as he wiped off the blood on Nico's knee. Will looked up at Nico, smirked, and said, "And a kiss to speed up the recovery!" as Will leaned down and kissed Nico's knee, breaking his "Dr. Solace" act. Nico blushed, and tried to hide his face with his hand as Will reached over to grab the tube of antibac. When he looked back, he gasped.

"What is it?" Nico asked, looking down at his knee. Will didn't have to answer. Nico stared down at his knee in rapt interest and astonishment as Will stared in awe and wonder.

"Oh my Zeus..." they both said at the same time.


	2. Medical Kisses (2)

**Author's (not really) Note:**

the real note's at the bottom (XD)

* * *

The boys stared at Nico's knee in amazement as the once-open wound started to slowly, slowly, stop bleeding, and start to close on its own. The gashes started to scab over, and within a couple of seconds, had hardened into a semi-protective shell of skin, only to start to flake off and reveal new, clear, unbroken skin underneath. Nico's knee had healed on its own within a span of 70 seconds. After the gashes had healed, they stared at the spot where Nico's skinned knee had once been, and simultaneously looked up at each other in shock.

Will finally broke the silence. "What... was that? How... When..."

Nico furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know... the only thing you did was..."

Will and Nico spoke at the same time. "Kiss it."

* * *

"KAYLA! KAYLA! KAYLA! YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS! GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT?"

Will burst into one of the infirmary rooms and ran through all the beds to catch up to Kayla as she tended to a newly sprained finger that one of the newer pegasus riders had gotten from getting their finger stuck in the bridle. Kayla looked up at Will, slightly annoyed, as she carefully put down her patient's hand and asked,

"What happened that was so important that you'd violate your own ground rules for not running in the infirmary while there were injured patients that would be put at risk?" She quirked an eyebrow at Will, who was bouncing up and down on his toes with a very shocked-looking Nico behind him.

"LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK!" Will exclaimed.

"... Look at what? Will, really. You're going to have to calm down a bit. I just can't understand you when you get like this." Kayla put on her 'no-nonsense face' and crossed her arms.

Will took a deep breath and pointed to Nico's knee.

"LOOK AT HIS KNEE!"

Kayla peered down at Nico's knee.

"What's so special about that? It's completely normal. No injuries, or sprains, or anything. Your point?"

Nico put a hand on Will's shoulder and pushed him back onto one of the hospital beds. "Here, let me explain to Kayla."

Nico turned to face Kayla and said, "Long story short, I tripped on a rock, Will kissed the wound, and it healed... like... super fast."

Kayla knitted her eyebrows and looked at Nico like she didn't believe him. "Are you sure? Because that would be a medical miracle..."

"Here! I'll show you!" Will shouted, and ran to Kayla's very confused patient's side. Will gingerly picked up the second-year's sprained finger, kissed it, and held it up to Kayla's face. She watched in astonishment as she saw the joints slowly reorganize them into the way that they were before. Kayla gasped, blinked, and inspected Will's work.

"But... how? When... Whaaaaa?" Kayla looked just as confused as the once-injured patient next to her did.

Nico shrugged as Will started to jump up and down again. "It just happened... I have no idea why."

Kayla jumped up as a huge grin spread across her face. "Well, we'd better put this new skill to use! C'mon Will!"

* * *

The three of them walked through the injured patients, with Will going around kissing everyone's wound like there was no tomorrow. But with every step Will took away from Nico, with every time he saw Will's lips plant them on someone else's skin, another grain of jealousy gathered on top of the many, many other grains piled in his chest. Every little cut, every little burn, every hoof mark, every thorn scratch, even the paper cuts were of upmost importance to Will. He took care of every single one of them. Every one. Not even the small ones that didn't hurt.

Every.

Single.

One.

Nico stared the wall angrily as Will performed his speed-recovery techique over, and over, and over and over and over until Nico could barely stand it anymore. He started to breathe heavily, and was about to scream at Will before he thought better of it and once again, against his "doctor's" orders, melted into the darkness that seemed to draw him in completely.

"What in the Hades? Nico, you scared me half to death! What are you doing in my cabin?"

Another pair of blue eyes, although more intensly so, stared into Nico's deep brown ones with worry and care in them. Jason peered worriedly into Nico's grief-stricken eyes, and helped Nico up from the kneeling position that he didn't even know that he was in.

Nico heaved a deep sigh, and plopped down on the nearest bed that he could find, with Jason sitting down next to him soon after, putting his hand on Nico's shoulder.

"Neeks, what happened? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Jason ran his large fingers through Nico's hair, affectionately ruffling Nico's dark, glossy waves.

Nico shrugged and said,"Well, it's not really a big deal... I guess."

" _Well_ , it's got you worked up like this so I'd think that it's sort of a big deal... _I guess._ " Jason jokingly bantered, but leaving himself open to whatever Nico would say.

Nico looked up over his shoulder at Jason sitting next to him on the bottom bunk bed. "It's a pretty long story. You got time?"

Jason lay back on the bed and chuckled. "I've got all day, buddy. Spill." He watched as Nico laced his fingers together, and started to speak.

"You know that I'm staying at Camp Half-Blood. After Kronos... After the giants... After Tartarus... After Gaea... I guess i just needed a place to... just take a breath. But that's not the only reason why I stayed. Remember Cupid? Remember the way he... forced me... to... give up my secret... He ripped it right out of my chest... and it was about Percy? I really liked him. I understand why now. But... by the time I really understood what was happening... I finally understood what else was different. On top of me being a "spawn of the underworld". I know what all the other campers say behind my back. I'm "Death Boy". The creepy guy, the scary guy, the outcast. That one "goth" kid, "Mr. Shadowy", I've heard them all. It's like... they never knew me at all. But Will... Will was different. When I came back to camp, I feel like he really welcomed me, like, as a friend. It felt like he understood me, understood where I came from, what I'd seen, what I'd done, and accepted it all. It was like he was there during all that time, and now, he's been there and back with me. From what I've seen from talking with him, and watching him work, and what his friends have told me, he really means it all. He's as pure as the sun is bright."

Jason listened intently the entire time Nico was speaking, and thought about what he had said. Nico stopped and looked up at Jason to see what he thought, but Jason just lay there and stared up at the bottom of the top bunk.

"Usually, I'll go and talk to Will while he's working in the infirmary, and sometimes I'll help out with the patients who aren't too freaked out having a son of the god of the dead taking care of them. It's become something like a habit. But this morning, I tripped on a rock in front of the infirmary, and I scraped my knee. I went in, and Will said that he could bandage and dress the wound. But after he cleaned it and before he wrapped it up, he gave me 'a kiss—"

Jason lifted his head to look at Nico, intrigued—

"—to speed up the recovery', kissed my knee—"

And then lowered his head again—

"—… and then… It healed. Really fast. I don't know why… Maybe it's a Son of Apollo, the god of healing thing… but after he discovered that… He started putting it to use… going around the infirmary and… _kissing_ everyone's wounds… and I—"

Nico choked on his own words, and Jason half-smirked inside. _Is Nico really… jealous of him?_ He pondered.

"—I couldn't bear seeing him do that to so many people… When all I wanted… was… just for him to do it to me." Nico sighed. "I don't know what to do now. I'm… really confused."

Jason finally got up and smiled widely at Nico, once again mussing up his already ruffled hair.

"Nico. You know what's really going on here right?"

Nico looked up at Jason questioningly and cocked his head to one side.

"I think… That you're jealous. Of everyone else. Because. You're not the only one he's kissed!"

Jason laughed and bolted for the door as Nico jumped up half a second later, chasing him around the cabin.

"YOU LITTLE SON OF A—"

A few minutes later, the two demigods, gasping for air, sat back down on the bunk bed, and finished their conversation. Jason smiled knowingly down at Nico.

"Neeks… If you really feel like this, I think you should tell him. I can see that he really matters to you, and you should do what you can to keep it that way. And if you like him that much… He might just like you back. Who knows?"

Nico smiled half-heartedly back at Jason. "Thanks… I-I guess that helps. Looks like I'll be paying Will another visit today."

Nico was just about to step out the door when Jason yelled back at him, "Oh yeah! Don't tell him you shadow-travelled here or I'll be seeing your sorry butt back in an infirmary bed for another few days!"

Nico mentally slapped himself in the face for forgetting about that.

* * *

 **A** **uthor's Note:** I LOST ALL MY WORK HALFWAY THROUGH AND I"M CRYING INSIDE BECAUSE I WAS ALMOST DONE AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOW IT"S GONE ;-;now i have to rewrite it

Edit: I LOST MY WORK TWICEEEEEEEEEEE  
TWOOOOOOO  
FAKINGGGGGGGGGG  
TIMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS  
why me ;-;

Edit #3: Jesus… that took forever to get out because of this crappy wifi =_=

Welp here's your update

Part three(out of three) hopefully coming out tmr!

GNST

-Aleavon (out… going to bed so tired bye)


	3. Medical Kisses (3)

**Author's Note:** HAIIIII okay I finally decided to work on this final bit here :D might be more but who knows teehee

Anyways let's get to my half an hour of work ^w^

Edit from end of chapter: AHHH OMG DYING OF FEELS FROM MY OWN FICC OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

*dies of happy

-Aleavon

Edit from end of editing chapter: holy shat.

holy

fuking

shat

i

finished

writing

a non-assigned story

for the first

faking

time

in

my life

i can't

deal

right now

i feel ascended

omfg

this is so freaking rewarding i can't even

ok sorry for the spam here's your fic and MY BEAUTIFUL BABY LOVE IT FOREVER AND ALWAYS

Warning: there is a little bit of T- rated? material, so I think I'm going to change the rating?

okay bye! ^w^ message me more prompts for more fics? either on my tumblr or right here :DDDDDDD

-Aleavon

* * *

 _Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Avoid the rock. Breathe out. Think about what you're going to say to Will. Breathe in. Breathe out. Don't fuck up. Breathe in. Breathe—_

The shiny, new red cross hammered onto the pristine white door glared at Nico as he arrived on the steps to the infirmary, hoping that he wouldn't mess up whatever he was about to do. What was he planning to say anyways, after leaving like that? "Sorry, I just felt a little woozy, and I needed some fresh air?" Even if Will ended up nodding at Nico's unbelievable excuse, making his curly locks bounce up and down in the fluorescent lighting and then returning to his work, how would that help? What would apologizing do for Nico's situation? Will would just forgive him and then go back to doing what he was doing… and that was **EXACTLY** what Nico didn't want. What was he to do?

 _I could… just go up to him and tell him the truth. But what if… what if he doesn't like me back? Should I go back and ask Jason again? He seemed kind of… distant though. Is there something I don't know? Or is it just something else on his mind? Well, if I go back to Jason, he might think I'm annoying and that I should have just paid more attention earlier… No, I can't go back. Well, I have a few options. I can never face Will again, run away from everything, maybe stay back down in the Underworld, seeing as he's one of the only reasons I'm here in the first place. I don't want to do that over something this trivial though… but it's not trivial to me. That's the only problem. And I don't want to be cooped up underground forever. I still want to see Hazel and Jason. And I can't really see both of them without the chance that I'll have to talk to Will again._

Nico rubbed his face with one hand, shook his head, and stepped off of the steps, turning towards his own cabin. It was pointless to just stand here and think without doing anything. He took a deep breath, as if going back in to confront Will, and then let it out again, shoulders slumped. He crouched down next to the wall and put his head between his knees, starting to let his mind wander along his choices once again.

 _I can't really do anything about this right now though. I know I can't avoid Will. And I don't want to avoid Will. But if I go through and end up telling him… I might have to do that anyways if it turns out that he doesn't like me back… It would be so awkward around him afterwards. I don't think I'd be able to stand that. But if I do tell him and he does like me back… what would happen then? If we dated… what would everyone else think? But does what everyone else think matter? If it matters to me, shouldn't it be enough? And my final choice… I can just not say anything about it. Try to keep it inside. Conceal, don't feel. But look how well that turned out for Elsa… I'll break eventually. And then it would probably be too late by then…_

Nico stood up and shook his head to clear his mind of the thoughts. He slowly, slowly, put one foot in front of the other, and made his way to the door. He put his hand on the doorknob and started to turn…

And fell forward face-flat on the floor as the door suddenly jerked open. Nico spluttered a muffled "What?" before picking himself up… and ended up looking at the neckline of a bright, neon orange "Camp Half-Blood" t-shirt. He gulped and looked up at a very ticked off Will. There was an awkward moment of silence before Will's deep, throaty voice rumbled sternly, "What do you think you were doing back there?"

Nico backed up a step, apologetically shrugging his shoulders as he replied, "Sorry about earlier… I sort of fe—"

Will grabbed Nico's shoulders and pushed him against the wall, successfully shutting Nico up and intimidating him by glaring at him straight in the eyes. Nico blushed from the close contact – One of Nico's recent daydreams had Nico and Will in this exact position. He hoped that Will assumed that Nico was blushing because he had been caught lying.

"I'm not stupid Nico. Don't just stand there blathering on about how you 'felt dizzy' or anything because I know shadow traveling just makes it worse. Plus you've tried to pull that one on me before. I'm not going to fall for the same excuse twice. Last time you didn't even make it past the door after shadow traveling before almost fainting into your little puddle of darkness again. And I'm glad I was there for that because otherwise…"

Will's voice cracked on "otherwise", and he momentarily stopped, shook his head, cleared his throat, and tried to continue ranting, but Nico had pressed his finger to Will's lips. The abnormally pink-faced Nico sucked in a deep breath and said, "Can you let me talk?"

Will made a very, very exasperated face, and tensely nodded yes.

Nico started, "Well… To start off, I'm really glad that you've been here to talk to me and everything. You saved me from melting into a puddle of shadowy goop, kept me alive and kicking, and now I'm actually here to talk to you. But for a while now… I don't know what's gotten into me. Especially today. Watching you… walk around… kissing everyone… even if it was just for speeding up recoveries… I just couldn't stand it. I couldn't watch you go around doing that to someone…" Nico stopped to take a deep breath, and finished off his sentence, looking at the ground, "…that wasn't me. You mean so much to me, and I just want you to be mine. But I know that that can't always be. Will… I think… I like you."

Nico blushed an even darker shade of red before looking up at Will to see what he thought. Will was grinning with a feverish jubilation that seemed to light up the entire hallway. He bent down to look Nico in the eyes, and grabbed Nico's shoulders.

Will pressed their foreheads together, still grinning like an idiot. "I've been meaning to talk to you about this too… But you got to it first."

Will leaned down further, pressing their noses together, and looked into Nico's eyes for consent. Nico, completely breathless, closed his eyes, giving Will the consent he was looking for to complete the first and final step:

Nico felt a warm puff of air leave Will's lips a second before they enclosed themselves over Nico's, gingerly pressing their mouths together, leaving Nico's stomach turning cartwheels in his stomach and his brain fizzing like an ice-cold Coke. Nico trailed his hand up the warm back of Will's t-shirt to the back of Will's neck, weaving his fingers through those bouncy golden curls the way he had longed to for what seemed like eons, and pulled Will even closer to him. Their lips fit together like two missing puzzle pieces scattered across a room; somehow they had been brought together, but once they were, they seemed as if they never would part. Nico pulled in a deep breath of air through his nose, as to not interrupt this blissful moment, but it proved futile, as Will pulled away to breathe through his mouth. Nico whimpered from the loss of contact, and pulled Will back. Their lips met again, like the first time, crashing into each other and resuming the improvised slow dance that they orchestrated.

After what seemed like an eternity and a nanosecond at the same time, the two of them broke off the liplock, flushed and gasping for that sweet, sweet air, and looked at each other. They seemed to wear the exact same joyful and satisfied grin on their glowing faces. Will pushed himself off the wall and Nico, and extended a hand to Nico.

"Well I'm a little behind on checking up on patients… Do you want to come with me?" He queried, smiling softly.

Nico took Will's hands and interlaced their fingers. "Why not? It's the same as all the other days."

But they both knew it was far from the same.

Nico wandered behind Will down the white linoleum hallway, peeking into rooms with once-injured campers (now chatting with either an on-duty Apollo kid or a friend) lying down on white cots with blue sheets, every now and then unconsciously smiling halfheartedly at someone he knew. Wait. What was he doing? Smiling at people he barely knew? It was like he hadn't learned anything from all those years on the run. _Nico, what are you doing? This isn't you. Stop smiling._ But he couldn't really stop… Not with this realization that had finally settled in his heart.

Will.

Likes.

Me.

Back.


	4. Yes, Will

**Author's Note:** Hey all, so I hit a bit of a writer's block - I'm going to be writing little tidbits on the side as I try to re-kindle my passion for writing Sunshine :)

For those of you who follow me, here's a little 738 word short Solangelo drabble!

Enjoy and please let me know if there's anything you'd like to see next :D

\- Aleavon

* * *

 ** _Yes, Will_**

Will shifted uncomfortably onto his side as he mulled over his blurred thoughts, trying to piece together something worth saying. It had been minutes since the two had exchanged a word, but they both continued to stare upwards during the silence, absorbing the quiet atmosphere of the moment. Finally, the blonde decided that there was something he had to do. He tugged a dark, wavy strand of hair lightly, and the warm body next to him shifted to face him, earthy brown eyes meeting sky blue ones.

"Hey Nico?" Will meekly said, eyes darting around, trying to quickly think of how he should present his revelation. Truly, it wasn't a revelation, but it would be to Nico. His situation had been itching at the bottom of his mind during the silence, and it soon became too big to ignore.

After a moment, Nico replied. "Yes, Will?"

"I have something I need to tell you." With a sigh, Will admitted his motif, slowly clenching his fingers into a fist as he built up the confidence and courage he needed to proceed.

"What is it?" Nico curiously queried, watching Will's shifting expression.

"I… um…" Hesitation overtook Will's willpower, and his process shuddered to a stop.

Nico waited patiently, and soon, Will felt ready to admit his thoughts.

But then, he realized he didn't know exactly what to say, and managed to utter out a single phrase before retreating back into his own mind.

"Okay, never mind."

Will paused for a minute, pondering and melding new phrases together to help present his situation. He mouthed every combination of words he could think of, trying to get his point across… and decided to just go for it.

"Nico." Will started again, feeling more sure about his confession.

"Yes, Will." Nico replied in a slightly exasperated tone.

"I like you." Will said, with the slightest quiver in his voice as he impatiently waited for Nico's reply. Nico scoffed, and then rolled his eyes and replied with humor in his tone.

"I like you too, Will."

"No, not in that way." Will shook his head – Nico must have misunderstood what he meant.

"Then in what way?" Nico questioned, his brow furrowing as he tried to figure out what Will was trying to say.

Will stuttered, "I… I…. um…" The moment, drawing nearer, threw him off his emotional balance again.

"You can do it, Will." Nico encouraged the now quivering blonde, propping himself up to better look at Nico.

"No, I mean…" Will took a deep breath, and then stuttered out, "I… I think.. I'm gay."

Nico took a sharp breath in as he closed his eyes, and then cursed lightly under his breath.

"Dammit Will…"

Will immediately figuratively backpedaled, trying to minimize the damage he did.

"I know it's kind of a shock—"

He was cut off by Nico pressing a finger to Will's lips.

"Will." Nico said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Will, I am your fucking husband. I am very well aware that, one, we like each other, and two, that you are gay. I am also gay. That is why we are married."

"…so you already know." Will said quietly, confused.

Nico facepalmed, and then poked Will's forehead.

"We've been over this before, don't you remember anything? How can you remember your list of hundreds of medical conditions but still can't remember what you asked me last night?"

Will squinted, the light from the window slowly dimming and obscuring his view of Nico's angelic face.

"Wait… I have a question." Will finally said.

"Yes, Will?" After another moment, Nico sighed and moved to roll back onto his back. Will slowly reached out to stop him, blinking, and then asked the most significant question that he had uttered so far.

"Is it past 11:30?"

"Yes, Will." Nico replied, rolling onto his back as Will released his grip on his shoulder.

"I get weird after 11:30." Will confirmed his thoughts with Nico, who nodded in return.

"Yes, Will." Repeating the same phrase he had been saying seemed to be the best course of action for the sleepy Italian.

"Should I sleep now?" Will asked, noticing Nico's drowsiness and finally becoming aware of his own.

"Yes, Will." Nico yawned and rolled onto his side, facing away from Will, as the bed creaked beneath them.

"Good night, Nico." Will quietly murmured, turning to face the window and away from Nico's sleeping figure.

"Sleep tight, Will."


	5. The Mysterious Metro Musician (1)

**Author's Note:**

please dont kill me

\- Aleavon

* * *

Tired eyelids slowly separated his consciousness from the engulfing warmth of the blankets that wrapped him up like he a caterpillar in its chrysalis, save for the beauty that would emerge from the enclosure in the case of the caterpillar. Will grumbled incoherently as the rays of sunlight punctured his comfortable unconsciousness, slowly urging him to tear his apathetic form away from his warm bed so that he could make the most use of his life. His golden, disheveled curls of hair drooped down past his ears, the back side almost reaching his shoulders, easily depicting the prolonged interval time since his last haircut. Dark bags hugged the underside of his now dull, previously sky-blue eyes, which now resembled the shade of the cumulonimbus clouds that raced across the sky when interrupting the beautiful weather of springtime; an opaque, ominous grey with a small hopeful tint of the blue atmosphere that lay underneath the darkness.

He trudged across the carpet of the small apartment in his underwear, not that it mattered, since no one else was ever in the secluded area anyways, save for his landlord popping in every few weeks or so to remind him that his rent was due. Yes, he was a student, but his father still continuously funded his education despite his emotional state dragging down his desire to continue along his path, instead wanting to live out his life in solitude and despair. So, he only had a roof over his head because he came from a family with privilege. He hopped around from part-time job to part-time job, never able to keep a commitment longer than a few weeks because of his "lack of customer and patient interaction", his "rebellious silence", and his "refusal to follow directions promptly". What caused him to go from the happy-go-lucky person he was in undergrad to the emotionally devoid person he was today, he did not know, but he did know that under all of the layers of detachment, he did wish he could think and feel the way he did before. Something had been lost in the storm of hist maturation.

As he opened the miniature fridge to grab the bowl of chilled, MSG-filled, instant noodles he had made yesterday in his occasionally functioning microwave, he struggled to find something to focus on. Clouded blue eyes observed for the thousandth time his graceful, "surgeon hands", as his father liked to put it. No matter how anxious or excited he was, his hands were always as steady as the slow ticking of the wall clock above the kitchen window, everpresent. The weathered, bamboo chopsticks his dad had brought back from one of his many expeditions to the enormous, outside world were of almost no interest to him, the intricate carvings almost completely worn away from years of extended use. The solitary table with two chairs, one of which was completely cluttered with textbooks and school materials a monument of his solitary life.

He quietly slurped up the cold noodles and contemplated what he was going to do today. Searching for another job held no interest to him, as he had no more resources he was willing to contact to search for another 10 day operation before leaving. There was nothing for him to do inside his apartment - he had already tried everything from art to yoga, and nothing interested him at all. The only thing that he might be able to do on his own lay outside of his domain, and without the friends that he had lost contact with so many years ago it seemed to be more daunting with each second of thought that he gave to the action. Despite everything that held him back, Will decided to get dressed nonetheless, bundling up relatively warmly for the freshly introduced fall season, and closed the door with phone, keys, and wallet in pocket.

Immediately, a freezing wind blasted his visage with the smell of dried leaves and the despair of freshmen starting school, reminding him of why he did not often venture outside the closed door of his fourth-story floor. Will slowly descended the old, dusty staircase and finally left the apartment complex of his own free will. For him to go anywhere required him to step into the metro system, for which he already had a MetroCard. He walked slowly past the rushed businessmen and women, the chattering tourists who were eager to explore the bustling city, the quiet people who minded their own business, heads down and hands in pockets, and finally reached the benches by the subway where people waited for their arriving subway car. While the so-called "rat racers" took part in the daily rush-hour cramming into the fully packed cars, Will sat off to the side, waiting for the people to mostly die down before he attempted to obtain one of the abstractly colored subway seats. People left and right bumped and jostled him, the occasional person stepping on his relatively new running shoes. Despite the fact that Will had had the shoes for two years, the ever-bright neon colors gleamed with the small rays of the overhead fluorescent lights that broke through the large mass of moving people. It had truly been much too long since he had been out on his own.

In his isolation, he suddenly heard a resonating, methodical sound that had not been part of his life since he was a child: the sound of a guitar being tuned. Gentle fingers somewhere in the room plucked at the strings, slowly adjusting the keys on the end of the fingerboard to the desired angle and sound. Knowing that where there was guitar tuning, there was sure to be music. A couple of major and minor chord progressions broke through the bustling, chaotic sounds of the crowded station as Will listened intently for what would come later: a few strums and soon, the melody of a song. Will scanned his surroundings, frantically searching for the source of the sound. It had been much too long since he had last heard the soul-searching expression of an artist and their instrument.

A silky, angelic voice floated above the other muted and chattering voices in the crowd, drawing Will's attention to the corner of the terminal. The only thing he could see was an open guitar case and a pair of white Adidas tennis shoes, so he cautiously stood up and shifted a few benches over so he could gaze upon the producer of this harmonious melody. At long last, he had finally found the object of his attention. A raven-haired young man sat, slightly hunched over his instrument, his shaggy locks slightly covering pale and ethereal features filled with emotion as he poured his very being into the lyrics of the song. A worn leather jacket was draped over his shoulders, wrists slightly poking out of the cuffs. He shifted his position, and propped his arms up on his black skinny jeans.

Will knew the song the musician was playing. It had been an old favorite of his, now a few years old, but still one of his favorites by Sam Smith. The breathtaking rendition of this age-old song had Will's gaze glued to the graceful guitar player as he took in every single ounce of the music.

"I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand?" the musician sang mournfully, scanning the room before his eyes suddenly locked onto Will's. Will's blue eyes betrayed his surprise at being noticed and immediately looked away, a bright red blush quickly spreading across his cheekbones and nose. He shyly glanced back to see the dark-haired man slightly smiling back at him, continuing on with the song as his eyes said, _Don't go away, just sit and enjoy for a bit._

"Oh, won't you, stay with me?" Long lashes gently touched raised cheekbones as the singer closed his eyes, loss and pain so strongly etched into his expression that Will could almost swear that these words came from somewhere deep within their two beings. Dark coffee brown eyes once again met sky blue eyes, and this time, they watched each other through their windows of the soul, exploring the other's pain from a distance without saying a word to the other person as the music almost faded into the back of Will's mind.

They sat like that for an indeterminable amount of time, watching the other through little glances and almost playing a version of peek-a-boo as neither as the music played in the background. Occasionally they'd make eye contact again, and then the musician would once again shake his long black curls over his eyes, breaking the visual exchange and return to the song. After what seemed to have been much too short of a time interval, the people cleared out, but Will found himself sitting there three hours later and felt a sudden urge to leave the station despite this new person he had met. He moved to leave, but then felt like he could not leave without truly acknowledging the musician's contribution to his uplifted spirits.

So, Will slowly stood up, and stepped towards the enchantingly gorgeous man for the first time. Will leaned down, pressing a twenty-dollar bill into the musician's hand as he quietly murmured a "thank you" with all of the emotion that he could muster, and quickly dashed onto the departing subway car. As he settled back down in his seat, he turned back to look at the mysterious man and watched his face contort from disbelief, to confusion, and then finally to wistfulness as the musician looked up to watch one of the only two people that had ever made him feel special, even if just for a moment.


End file.
